Musician Seo Taiji


By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter

Korean unparalleled pop icon Seo Taiji has finally reappeared, with a much-anticipated album release and an unexpected concert.

His comeback comes four and half years after his seventh album. But his long hiatus seems to have heightened fan's anticipation with the first 100,000 copies of his new single sold out in reservations alone.

His ``guerilla concert,'' a self-promoted free concert held Friday without any prior notice, attracted more than 4,000 fans and ended in 15 minutes because of safety concerns.

``I spent about three months doing nothing. After that, I spent time making some demos and thinking about new music for about two years abroad while taking some leisure time. And then, I came back to Korea to finish the work … This new album took much more time than the previous albums,'' Seo, 36, said in an interview with the Yonhap News Agency.

Many critics and media said Seo's eighth album was more mainstream and short on the musical experimentation characteristic of Seo.

But the singer stressed that he experimented a lot on the album and was satisfied with it.

``I have done more experimental attempts (on this album) than the other ones. In the process I sometimes failed. In the past, as I pursued a clear genre, I had a set goal, but this time, I really experimented a lot to create something new,'' he said.

According to Seo he introduced a new genre, ``Nature Pound'' on one track. Seo has associated each album release with a certain genre. For example his fifth album was marked by alternative rock, the six with hard core and the seventh with ``emo(tional) core,'' the disposition of the new music defined by Seo.

``Pound is a kind of a genre concept while nature is an overall image of the music I am pursuing. I made the music thinking about nature. In details of the new music, you can hear the tones are broken down into small pieces,'' he said.

Concerning the current sagging record industry, he said that as downloading music became a dominant trend, the quality and value of the music have downgraded.

``I hope the quality of music will improve. I will try to make better music … It has been 16 years (since I debuted as Seo Taiji and Boys). It's high time to return the love I received from my fans,'' he said.

Seo will perform along with heavy metal star Marilyn Manson, American alternative rock group Death Cab for Cutie and Japanese rock band Dragon Ash at the rock music festival ETPFest 2008 (Eerie Taiji People Festival) Aug. 14-15.

The Aug. 14 concert will be held on a special stage outside Jamsil Baseball Stadium, while the following day they move inside the venue.

Seo debuted as lead singer of the popular group ``Seo Taiji and Boys''' in 1992. The group garnered enormous popularity with their innovative music, rewriting the local music history.

The group disbanded, but Seo pursued his own music and became one of the top rock stars in the country.

Despite his long hiatus since 2004, Seo continues to be idolized by thousands of fans in Korea.

He founded the ETPFest in 2001, inviting American rock bands like Hoobastank, Zebrahead and Japanese band PE'Z to perform. While previous ETPFests were mainly a showcase for Seo's music, this year's ETPFest includes more foreign artists, making it a truly international rock festival.

Tickets are 132,000 won for the two-day event. To purchase tickets, visit ticket.cjmall.com or call 1577-8888. For information, visit :: ETP FESTIVAL 2008 ::.

chungay@koreatimes.co.kr